A Tuesday afternoon shooting while kids were playing outside shocked neighbors at the Birchwood Apartments in Leesburg.
"I heard the shots, and I thought it was fireworks, so I stuck my head out the door and saw them going back and forth," one witness said.
The witness, who didn't want to be named, said she ran into a bathroom with no windows to keep safe. Meanwhile, officers with the Leesburg Police Department said 18-year-old Courey Devonne Nelams was shot in the head. His name has not been released.
"He was out here hanging out with people, but he needed to follow his own path, and not other people," a friend said.
Police said they found Nealms at a different location than where he was shot. They investigated both scenes within the neighborhood. They said officers immediately recognized Nealms because of prior interactions with police.
He was taken Ocala Regional Medical Center and is in critical but stable condition.
Police believe a fight escalated into gunfire, but it's not clear what sparked the fight.